LITTLE FREE PANTRY INITIATIVE

Lakewood Rotary Little Free Pantry Project

Providing 24/7 Access to Food and Hygiene Essentials

During the 2020 pandemic, Lakewood Rotary launched the Little Free Pantry (LFP) Project to ensure barrier-free access to food and hygiene items—anytime, day or night.

Traditional food banks often come with challenges:

• Limited operating hours

• ID requirements

• Transportation difficulties

Our Little Free Pantries help bridge that gap.

How It Works

Similar to Little Free Libraries, our pantries are small, accessible cabinets stocked with food and hygiene essentials. Since we started, the program has been warmly embraced by the community, both by those who need assistance and those who want to help.

Currently, we maintain eight (8) pantries in (7) locations.

Check here for the map with location addresses.

These pantries serve a wide range of individuals, including:

• People experiencing homelessness

• Seniors on fixed incomes

• Working families struggling to make ends meet

(Want to learn more about struggling families in your area? Check out the ALICE database.)

A Community Effort

Our Little Free Pantries complement food banks—they don’t replace them. However, because we can’t provide the detailed reporting required by government agencies, we do not qualify for food bank support.

Instead, we’ve created a network of partnerships, working closely with:

• Local businesses and churches (as collection and drop-off sites)

• Community organizations like the YMCA (which also provides showers for the homeless)

• Service Clubs and employee groups, including Pierce Transit, for direct pantry support

How We Make It Happen

Our dedicated team breaks tasks into simple, repeatable steps, making it easy for volunteers to stay involved.

As one volunteer beautifully shared in a holiday message:

“Those who provide sustenance not only feed the body but also the soul. What seems like a small task weaves lives together, reminding us that we are all one.”